Adam Zagajewski

Adam Zagajewski (born 21 June1945 in Lwów (now Lviv), Ukraine) is a Polish poet, novelist, translator and essayist. His poem "Try To Praise The Mutilated World", printed in The New Yorker, became famous after the September 11 attacks.

You’ve seen the refugees heading nowhere,you’ve heard the executioners sing joyfully.You should praise the mutilated world.Remember the moments when we were togetherin a white room and the curtain fluttered.Return in thought to the concert where music flared.You gathered acorns in the park in autumnand leaves eddied over the earth’s scars.Praise the mutilated worldand the gray feather a thrush lost,and the gentle light that strays and vanishesand returns.